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Suri Sehgal

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Surinder Mohan (Suri) Sehgal is an Indian-American philanthropist with a long career as a crop scientist, seedsman, entrepreneur, and leading global hybrid seed industry expert.[1][2] His research and professional successes in the areas of plant breeding[3] and genetics, ag biotechnology, intellectual property, business management, and seed industry development[4] were carried out in executive capacities in several companies in the United States, Belgium, and Germany. After the divestment of a group of four seed companies that Sehgal founded and ran with his wife, Edda Sehgal, the couple created two nonprofit organizations to promote rural development[5] in Suri's country of origin: Sehgal (Family) Foundation in 1998 in the US, and S M Sehgal Foundation[6] in India. The foundation focuses on water security,[7] food security, and social justice, particularly empowerment.[8] A proponent of corporate social responsibility and environmental sustainability, Sehgal has also provided support individually and through the foundations for projects related to agriculture research,[9][10] the preservation of biodiversity[11][12] and the conservation of natural resources.[13]

Suri Sehgal
Suri Sehgal in 2008
Born (1934-05-16) May 16, 1934 (age 90)
Guliana, Punjab, British India
(now in Punjab, Pakistan)
NationalityAmerican
CitizenshipUnited States
Alma materHarvard University, USA
Harvard International Senior Management Program, Switzerland
Punjab University, India
Known forSeed industry development, plant breeding, socioeconomic development in rural India, philanthropy
S M Sehgal Foundation, India
Sehgal Foundation, USA
SpouseEdda Gudrun (nee Jeglinsky) Sehgal
ChildrenKenai K. Sehgal
Bernd U. Sehgal
Oliver S. Sehgal
Vicki D. Sehgal
Scientific career
FieldsPlant genetics, agricultural science, business, philanthropy

Early life and education

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Suri Sehgal was born on 16 May 1934 in the town of Guliana[14] in the Punjab Province[15] of British India[16] (now in Punjab, Pakistan) into an inter-caste Punjabi family. He was the second son, and one of eight children, of a Hindu father, Faqirchand “Shahji” Sehgal, and a Sikh mother, Shushil Kaur Sehgal. Shahji Sehgal was an associate of Mahatma Gandhi in the Indian National Congress, and the family home was a center for community organizing for India's independence from British rule. Suri was thirteen when independence brought about the Partition of India in August 1947. The Sehgal family home, in the region of Punjab that became part of Pakistan, was along the route of the mass migration of people who were displaced amidst the violence that followed Partition—Hindus and Sikhs to India and Muslims from India to Pakistan.[17] Suri ended up homeless for a time on the streets of Delhi and was a witness to horrific violence and bloodshed before being reunited with his family in a refugee camp in Amritsar, India.[18] Suri achieved a bachelor of science with honors and a master of science with honors in botany at Punjab University, where he received silver medals, merit certificates, and scholarships for academic achievement in 1955 and 1957. He came to the United States in 1959 to study plant genetics and work with Paul C. Mangelsdorf at Harvard University. He received the Anna C. Ames Memorial Scholarship in 1961. He attained his Ph.D. in plant genetics from Harvard in 1963. He later (1982) completed the Harvard International Senior Management Program in Mont-Pelerin, Switzerland.

Professional achievements

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Suri Sehgal's professional career began in 1963 at a (then) regional seed company in Des Moines, Iowa, founded by plant breeder and future vice president of the United States, Henry A. Wallace, called Pioneer Hi-Bred Corn Company (named Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., in 1970, and Dupont Pioneer in 2012). Sehgal's tenure at Pioneer lasted 24 years. He was mentored and befriended by Pioneer executive Bill Brown (William L. Brown).[19]

  • Sehgal served as Pioneer's corn breeder for the tropics and subtropics stationed in Jamaica for six years before being appointed manager of the International Department. He organized and established research and development centers, production facilities, and branch offices throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, with responsibility for hiring and training management teams. He was appointed president of Pioneer's Overseas Division in 1973, president of Pioneer Overseas Corporation in 1981, and corporate vice-president of Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., in 1984.
  • Until 1988, Sehgal traveled extensively through Russia, Ukraine, Western and Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, China, and India to develop, manage, and administrate international research and business ventures. His East-West business strategy in Europe was the first of its kind in the seed industry, resulting in unprecedented profits for Pioneer. Sehgal introduced high-technology/high-profit concepts in Brazil, a global sourcing concept in Europe, and innovative ideas in the company's worldwide operations.
  • Sehgal left Pioneer in 1988 and launched a seed company in India with Edda Sehgal called Proagro Seed Company Ltd., which became a leading private seed company on the Indian subcontinent over the next ten years.[20]
  • During the same period, Sehgal served as chairman and CEO of Global Technologies, Inc., Des Moines, Iowa, providing agribusiness consulting and advisory services globally for seven years as a chief operating officer at Plant Genetic Systems,[21] Belgium, (in 2002 became Bayer CropScience); for seven years as a senior advisor at KWS Kleinwanzlebener Saatzucht Ag (KWS Saat), Einbeck, Germany; and until 1997 on the board of directors for Great Lakes Hybrids, Ovid, Michigan, USA.
  • Sehgal spent three years as a senior advisor at Hoechst Schering AgrEvo GmbH (named Aventis CropScience in 1999, and Bayer CropScience in 2002), Frankfurt, Germany, where he helped develop the forward integration of Plant Genetic Systems technology into AgrEvo seed businesses.[22][23]
  • He served on the board of trustees for the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, Nigeria, and on the board of directors for Diversity, A News Journal for the International Genetic Resources Community, USA.
  • Suri and Edda Sehgal divested Proagro Seed Company Ltd. in 1998 and used the bulk of the profits to create philanthropic foundations in the United States and India. That same year, the Sehgals established Global Investors LLLP, headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, as an investment company. The only shareholders are Suri, Edda, and their four children. The Sehgal (Family) Foundation is based in Des Moines, Iowa, as a private donor foundation with the primary intent of making a positive contribution to the development of India, but also providing support to philanthropic ventures in the United States and elsewhere.[24] Suri serves as chairman.[25] Edda and the couple's four children serve as trustees. The recipients of their funding support include individuals and organizations making a difference in health, education, and conservation.[26]
  • Dr. Suri Sehgal was recognized for his lifetime achievement for his unwavering commitment to empowering communities and fostering sustainable agricultural practices. He received the prestigious Dr. MS Swaminathan Award for Leadership in Agriculture for the year 2022, recognized by Trust for Advancement of Agricultural Sciences (TAAS).[27][28][29][30]

Personal life

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Suri Sehgal met Edda Gudrun Jeglinsky (born December 25, 1941, in Breslau, Silesia) a few weeks after she first came to the United States from Germany in 1962 to live as an au pair in the home of Henry Kissinger, a professor at Harvard at the time. Suri and Edda shared a refugee past as children. Edda's family had been forced to flee from their country of origin, German Silesia, near the end of WWII. The Jeglinskys escaped to Bavaria in 1945 and settled in Göppingen, Germany. When Suri completed his Ph.D. at Harvard, he moved to Des Moines, Iowa, to work with Bill Brown at Pioneer Hi-Bred Corn Company. After completing her two-year commitment to the Kissingers, Edda moved to Des Moines, Iowa. Suri and Edda were married in the home of Bill and Alice Brown in 1964. The Sehgals raised four children, helped raise two nephews, and opened their home to other relatives who emigrated from India to the United States. The creation of their foundations and the Sehgals’ ongoing commitment to philanthropy was rooted in the violence and loss they experienced during their childhoods as refugees fleeing from their countries of origin. Both are proud Americans who want to share their good fortune.[31]

Current work

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Suri Sehgal is chairman and trustee of the Sehgal Foundation and S M Sehgal Foundation. Edda Sehgal is a trustee. S M Sehgal Foundation's mission is to strengthen community-led development initiatives to achieve positive social, economic, and environmental Agri-Business in rural India. The headquarters building in Gurgaon, now called Gurugram,[32] in the state of Haryana, received platinum-level certification for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) from the US Green Building Council (USGBC).[33][34]

Sehgal is the chairman of two seed companies. Misr Hytech Seed International S.A.E. in Cairo (which he helped establish with other shareholders) is a leading seed company in Egypt, breeding and developing high-yielding corn, sorghum, and squash.[35] The other seed company, Hytech India, which Sehgal founded in 2004, develops high-yielding hybrid seeds in Hyderabad, India.[36]

Sehgal is a Trustee Emeritus of the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis, having helped to establish the William L. Brown Center of Economic Botany at the Missouri Botanical Garden in 2001.[37][38][39]

Sehgal has served as a trustee or board member of several other nonprofit organizations , including the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE)[40] and the Trust for Advancement of Agricultural Sciences (TAAS).[41]

Honors, awards and international recognition

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  • Suri Sehgal received the Pride of India Gold Award in 2007 from NRI Institute, Washington, D.C. Chapter[42] and the Bharat Samman Lifetime Achievement Award for contributions to the development of India in 2009, also from the NRI Institute for promoting cultural, academic, and socioeconomic interests of Indian diasporas.[43]
  • For Sehgal's contributions to water management in semiarid regions, Suri Sehgal Lake was named by ICRISAT Patancheru in 2009.[44]
  • Sehgal received the Leadership in Philanthropy Award in 2011 from the American India Foundation.[45]
  • He was presented with the Global Indian Karmaveer Puraskaar Lifetime Achievement Award for Social Justice and Citizen Action in 2013 from the Indian Confederation of NGOs (iCONGO).[46]
  • A history of S M Sehgal Foundation's first fifteen years, published in 2016, called Together We Empower: Rekindling Hope in Rural India,[47] documented the progress and successes as well as the missteps and learnings of the work done in partnership with communities. The foundation has received multiple awards for achievements and inventions in water management,[48][49] agriculture development,[50] good rural governance,[51] community radio,[52] and book publishing.[53][54]
  • Sehgal received the 2016 American Bazaar Philanthropy Award for committing the bulk of his wealth to the development and empowerment of rural India.[1][55]
  • Hytech Seed India was recognized with two awards at the Agri Business Summit and Agri Awards, ABSA 2021 Award for Best Field Crop Seed Company in the Agri Input Industry; and the Seedsmen Association Annual Awards 2021 under the category of Seed Entrepreneur for “valuable contributions to the farming community, in particular to the seed industry.[56]
  • Suri Sehgal was announced the winner of the MS Swaminathan Award for the year 2022 [57][58] for leadership in agriculture.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Indian American Solving Rural India's Challenges Wins Philanthropy Award". The Financial Express. October 7, 2016.
  2. ^ Maize Genetics and Breeding in the 20th Century, ed. Peter Peterson and Angelo Bianchi, World Scientific Publishing Company, 1999.
  3. ^ "Plant breeding | History, Applications, & Methods | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2023-04-17.
  4. ^ 100 Voices on the International Year of Soils: Dr Suri Sehgal, Sehgal Foundation, India, 29 December 2015, retrieved 2023-04-13
  5. ^ "S M Sehgal Foundation Empowers Rural Rajasthan Through Community-Led Development - India CSR". 2023-02-06. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
  6. ^ Foundation, Sehgal. "Sehgal Foundation".
  7. ^ Wire, A. B. (2016-05-06). "India needs to harvest water to end drought crisis: Indian American philanthropist Suri Sehgal - The American Bazaar". Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  8. ^ "Dr. Suri Sehgal Biography". International Plant Biotechnology Outreach.
  9. ^ "ICRISAT Media Releases 2003: Sehgal Foundation Gifts Further $1 Million to ICRISAT". International Crops Research for the Semi-Arid Tropics. 20 November 2003.
  10. ^ "Icrisat gets another $1 m donation from Sehgal Foundation". The Hindu Business Line. 21 November 2003.
  11. ^ "S M Sehgal Foundation - Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation". Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment. 2018-02-28. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
  12. ^ "Suri Sehgal Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation". Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment. 19 March 2014.
  13. ^ Moines, Des (2 November 2022). "Sehgal Foundation | Foundation Directory".
  14. ^ "Guliana, Gujrat", Wikipedia, 2021-07-23, retrieved 2023-04-13
  15. ^ "Punjab Province (British India)", Wikipedia, 2023-04-09, retrieved 2023-04-13
  16. ^ "British Raj", Wikipedia, 2023-04-10, retrieved 2023-04-13
  17. ^ "Why the Partition of India and Pakistan still casts a long shadow over the region". National Geographic. 2 August 2022. Archived from the original on August 2, 2022. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
  18. ^ "India needs to harvest water to end drought crisis: Indian American philanthropist Suri Sehgal". The American Bazaar. 6 May 2016.
  19. ^ "William Lacy Brown 1913-1991: Scientist, Executive, & Mentor: He Left a Lasting Legacy To Global Agriculture, by Isabel Shipley Cunningham" (PDF). Diversity.
  20. ^ "Suri Sehgal Ph.D.: Executive Profile & Biography". Bloomberg.
  21. ^ "Plant Genetic Systems Company Profile: Acquisition & Investors | PitchBook". pitchbook.com. Retrieved 2023-04-17.
  22. ^ "Update: The Life Industry - 1997". ETC Group. 1 December 1997.
  23. ^ "La Biotecnologia". Icaria Editorial. April 2000 – via Google Books.
  24. ^ "Indians Helping UN: The Pride in India Challenge-A Siliconeer Report". Siliconeer. September 2003.
  25. ^ "'New breed' Indian Diaspora has its heart in the right place". Rediff Business. September 5, 2014.
  26. ^ Cornell, Marly. (2014) Seeds for Change: The Lives and Work of Suri and Edda Sehgal, Sehgal Foundation, Des Moines, Iowa. p. 267
  27. ^ Wire, A. B. (2023-08-22). "Suri Sehgal gets Swaminathan Award for leadership in agriculture - The American Bazaar". Retrieved 2023-09-12.
  28. ^ admin (2023-08-22). "Iowa's Dr. Suri Sehgal Receives Swaminathan Award For Leadership In Agriculture". IndiaWest. Retrieved 2023-09-12.
  29. ^ "Dr. Suri Sehgal gets M S Swaminathan Agri Leadership Award". 2023-08-25. Retrieved 2023-09-12.
  30. ^ Veena (2023-08-22). "Indian American philanthropist Dr Suri Sehgal receives prestigious Dr. M S Swaminathan Award for leadership in agriculture". NRI Pulse. Retrieved 2023-09-12.
  31. ^ "Sehgals: Planting Seeds for Change". Books Make a Difference. 2015-07-01. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  32. ^ "Gurgaon District to be renamed Gurugram, Mewat as Nuh: Haryana Government". "Express News Service” 13, April 2016. 13 April 2016.
  33. ^ "Need for Green Buildings Says Guv". The Tribune Chandigarh, India. March 21, 2010.
  34. ^ Sharma, Mamta (2012-06-15). "Gurgaon realty focuses on developing Green buildings". The Economic Times. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  35. ^ "Our Team". Misr Hytech Seed International.
  36. ^ "G-Tech Seeds Exports Pvt Ltd" (PDF). AIPICRISAT.
  37. ^ "William L. Brown Center". Missouri Botanical Garden.
  38. ^ "2013 Annual Report: The Power of Plants" (PDF). Missouri Botanical Garden.
  39. ^ "Board of Trustees and Senior Staff". Missouri Botanical Garden.
  40. ^ "Governing board". Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment. 8 October 2014.
  41. ^ "Board of Trustees". Trust for Advancement of Agricultural Sciences.
  42. ^ "NRI Institute Celebrates the "Pride of India Gold Awards"" (PDF). Non-Resident Institute (NRI). September 28, 2007.
  43. ^ http://www.nriinstitute.org/award.html
  44. ^ "Announcing the Suri Sehgal Lake at Patancheru". ICRISAT Happenings. November 2009.
  45. ^ "$1.8 Million raised towards innovative education initiative, digital equalizer American Indian Foundation: Celebrating a decade of giving - News Portal". 23 June 2011.
  46. ^ "Karmaveer Global Awards Lifetime Achievement Dr. Suri Sehgal". Karmaveer Puraskaar. 2013.
  47. ^ Cornell, Marly (1 January 2016). Together We Empower: Rekindling Hope in Rural India. Sehgal Foundation. ISBN 978-0990620730.
  48. ^ "Installation of Pressurized Recharge Wells for Creating Freshwater Pockets in Saline Groundwater". Millennium Alliance - Inspiring Innovation. Sharing Solutions. 2014.
  49. ^ "India: S.M. Sehgal Foundation wins '3rd National Ground Water Augmentation Award - 2009'". Humanitarian News. March 28, 2011.
  50. ^ "Sehgal Foundation wins 9th Global Agriculture Leadership Award 2016". American Bazaar. September 27, 2016.
  51. ^ "Strengthening the Demand and Supply for Better Village Governance". Rockefeller Foundation Centennial. 2013.
  52. ^ "Awards for Alfaz-e-Mewat and Waqt Ki Awaaz - UNESCO Chair on Community Media". 23 December 2015.
  53. ^ "Minnesota Author Marly Cornell Wins International Book Award by Mary Ann Grossmann – Twin Cities". Pioneer Press. May 24, 2016.
  54. ^ "2016 International Book Awards - Honoring Excellence in Independent & Mainstream Publishing". Bookvana. May 24, 2016. Archived from the original on November 15, 2016.
  55. ^ "Dr. Suri Sehgal Receives American Bazaar Philanthropy Award". The American Bazaar. October 2, 2016.
  56. ^ "Hytech Seed India bags two awards at ABSA 2021 - Agriculture Post". agriculturepost.com. 8 October 2021. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  57. ^ "Dr Surinder Sehgal Is Awarded The Dr M S Swaminathan Award for Leadership in Agriculture for 2022". krishijagran.com. Retrieved 2023-09-04.
  58. ^ "Dr. Suri Sehgal Receives Dr. M S Swaminathan Agricultural Leadership Award". 2023-08-21. Retrieved 2023-09-04.
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